Recollections
by iPlayBassoon
Summary: One-shot of Tony dealing with a disability.


_A/N: I do not own any of the characters within. Tony Stark and Pepper Potts are the intellectual property of Marvel Comics. Do not try to sue me. I am a broke college student and have no money. If you must sue, I have a nice jar of pop tabs ready to be made into cheapo chain mail that you can have. On to the story!_

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**Recollections**

It all started six months ago. The dizzy spells, the falls, the dropped objects, and the horrible tremor that wracked his hands when he was working on his projects. It was a confusing and frustrating time.

He, as usual, was too stubborn to go to the doctor. A superhero like Ironman was infallible, of course. It wasn't until he woke up paralyzed in one leg that he decided to get looked at by an actual doctor.

His stay in the hospital was a time of fear, not that he would admit it. He had to stay strong for Pepper, even if it was just a facade. The battery of tests he underwent were mind numbing. Some painful, but for the most part only tedious. MRI's, MRA's, CT scans, VEP's, LP's. After awhile he began to refer to them as his daily servings of alphabet soup.

He recalls lying in the bed as the doctor came in, the redundant beeping of the machinery driving him insane. The doctor's gentle demeanor while delivering his diagnosis did nothing to help his growing rage at the uncertainty that was his current situation.

Several more days spent in the hospital were filled with high doses of steroids and research into Multiple Sclerosis. When Pepper wasn't helping him with his research, she was crying. It broke his heart to see it, but again he masked his true feelings. He had to stay strong for Pepper.

* * *

He sits in a wheelchair at his workstation, tinkering with his newest project, ignorant of the passing time. She sighs at the now familiar sight before going in and reminding Tony to take his daily injection of Copaxone.

Pushing his chair into the kitchen, she stands watch as the he inserts the syringe into his arm and plunges the medication under the skin. She notes how dejected he seems, unable to go out saving the world with the Avengers or even fly in his suit right now. She reminds herself that its probably for the better; he always did scare her going off like that, anyway.

Sighing silently, she disposes of the used needle.

* * *

As the weeks pass, he has managed to get out of the wheelchair more and more, despite still needing to rely on crutches and canes. Sensation slowly returns to his leg, and with the help of daily massages and physical therapy, he notes that he is able to stand and walk for longer periods of time. Smiling slightly he takes his coffee cup in hand and slowly walks back to the workstation, leaning into the cane for support.

Pepper finds him six hours later. He is still sitting at his desk, cold coffee forgotten as he tinkers with the beginnings of his latest project. Pepper will be so proud of him when he finally reveals it to her, he thinks. AC/DC's "Back In Black" is blaring through his advanced sound system. She turns it off as usual, despite his protests.

"Come on, Tony. Its time for dinner," she says. He looks up, expecting to see her in her usual dressy outfits and spiky high heels, and is surprised when he sees her in nothing but loose yoga pants and a tank top. Apparently she noticed that look because she then says, "I've ordered Chinese take out. I got your favorite, Tony, pork dumplings, lo mien, and Mongolian beef!" This is enough to make his stomach growl. He braces himself to stand up, grabs his cane, and follows her upstairs.

* * *

Three months later, Tony had suffered another relapse and was back in his wheelchair. He still spent as much time on his secret project as his body would allow. Granted it was not as much as normal, but it gave him something to do besides laying in bed all day.

"Pepper, can you come down to the workstation? I've got something I want to show you," he says through the intercom. He could have just had JARVIS tell her, but he wanted to tell her himself. Soon enough he sees her walk through the door and tells her to stand next to Dummy, his least favorite robot that he built in High School. He wheels over to a platform unlike that which he used to put on and take off his old Iron Man suits. He grabs a set of hand holds above him and whispers a command. The machines set into motion, first pulling him to a standing position before bolting on piece after piece of sophisticated looking armor. When the machines had done their part, he hesitantly takes a small step forward, and then another. He hears a gasp and looks up. Pepper is smiling and crying. She runs forward, grasping him in a tight hug.

* * *

Tony had decided to market his new technology to hospitals and patients with central nervous system injuries and diseases everywhere. In fact, he even set up a foundation to help those who needed the technology but couldn't afford it. Millions of people benefitted from the "exoskeleton" which sent electrical impulses to affected nerves. The nerve stimulation helped people to move, and the brace like structure of the exoskeleton provided support to those who couldn't support themselves. Another benefit of the brace enabled people to rebuild lost muscle tone after repeated use. After all, the brace didn't keep them from moving. It only held them up, while they moved themselves. When you add in the extra light weight of the system, you had a very useful piece of machinery.

Stark Industries stopped manufacturing weapons a year or so before, after the whole incident in Gulmira. Tony decided that the new direction S.I. would take be in the medical field, building new high tech equipment for both patients and hospitals. It had turned into a very fulfilling decision, and Pepper was very proud of him when she found out how many people Tony's new technology had helped.

It wasn't long after before Pepper and Tony got married, and they lived a happy life together.

**The End.**

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_A/N: This is my first one-shot, and only my second Ironman fanfic. I apologize if Tony and Pepper seem a bit OOC. Please don't flame too hard. Comments are welcome._


End file.
